Articles > Six Simple Steps for a Professional, Profitable Web Site

Six Simple Steps for a Professional, Profitable Web Site

- by Andrea Wilson

Just because you are a small business doesn't mean your Web site
shouldn't have an attractive, clean design and easy-to-use
navigation. A well-designed, professional-looking web site can
actually increase your sales.

On the other hand, an amateurish Web site that is poorly designed
and difficult to navigate will not instill confidence in your
services or products... no matter how good they are!

The Internet is fast becoming the Yellow Pages of the 21st
Century. Is your business listed in the phone book? Of course!
Well, nowadays, more and more people are using the Internet to:

• Locate local businesses
• Compare prices
• Research products
• Shop from home.

And unlike the phone book, the Internet also allows them to:

• Evaluate businesses before purchasing from them (for this
  reason alone, a Web site must look professional!)
• Check out people's opinions
• Read product reviews
• Access surveys and reports.

Here's how you can create a professional online presence that
attracts more business:

1. Purchase a Domain Name

Every business, non-profit organization, school, professional,
consultant or service provider must have a domain name and a business-like web site. Buy your domain name from GoDaddy.com or 1And1.com for some of the best prices around.

2. Pay for Web Hosting

A free host will usually post annoying advertising banners on your site. Some of these can be quite detrimental to your business.

The URL of a free host will also look unprofessional, e.g.,
www.myfreehost.com/computeralley/ablewebs. The URL of a paid host will look like this: www.ablewebs.com. Big difference! Set up professional-looking email addresses These are available from paid hosting services. Example: andrea@ablewebs.com. Never do business under free email accounts like Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL or Gmail. Email addresses like bestkittytoys@hotmail.com can't compare with an email address like john.smith@bestkittytoys.com. Guess who I'd be doing business with?

3. Avoid Unnecessary Graphics

   Graphics load slowly. Use text and background color (defined in Cascading Style Sheets or placed within table cells), instead of graphics, wherever possible.

   Never use a splash page! A splash page is a web page that basically says "Enter Site Here." It will usually show a fancy graphic of some kind and may even be a Flash movie. Avoid Flash introductions like the plague!

   Animation is annoying and quickly sends viewers away from your site. Skip the scrolling marquees, hopping bunnies, mouse trails and anything else that moves or blinks! Visitors will try to avoid the moving graphics by scrolling away from your main message or by clicking away.

4. Optimize Graphics for Faster Loading

   Graphics that are reduced in size in a proper graphics editor
   (Photoshop, etc.) will be smaller and load faster. Graphics that
   are reduced in size in an HTML editor (FrontPage, Dreamweaver,
   etc.) will only LOOK smaller. They actually contain the same
   number of pixels as the original graphic so they will NOT load
   faster!

5. Make Text Stand Out

   Text on a busy background is hard to read. Keep backgrounds plain and contrast text appropriately. In fact, text areas should provide as much contrast as possible. Black text on a white background is always best, but dark text on a very light background is fine.

   Avoid dark text on a dark background! For example, red on black only works if the text is very large. Use that kind of
   combination for headlines or banners only. And purple text on a red background? Never!

   Many people are colour blind to some degree, men more so than women. Check your Web site at http://colorfilter.wickline.org.

6. Choose the Right Fonts

   Use a font that was developed for reading online like Verdana (sans-serif) or Georgia (serif). Sans-serif fonts tend to be easier to read online, but some tests show that serif fonts sell products better. Test this on your own site!

We know how to make your Web site turn visitors into customers! Call Able Webs today at 604-526-4397 or...

Request a Free Web Design Consultation Today

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